Everybody Into The Pool
by Mary Elliott
Summary: Who can unravel the puzzle concerning the new officer.


Everybody Into Of the Pool

By Mary Elliott

Thinking back, it had to be Chief Sharkey and Kowalski who started the pool, after overhearing their skipper asking Mr. Morton questions about the new junior officer's name. The immediate acceptance of Lieutenant Carlos A. Maxwell into _Seaview's_ fold was proof of his likability. Although the rates called him Mr. Maxwell, Frank O'Brian and Rick "Sparks" Archer were soon calling him Cam off duty. Lee had overheard the two talking about the new officer and questioned them about the first name.

"Well skipper, he said Carlos was okay, but he preferred Cam – his three initials," O'Brien offered in explanation.

"I was curious so I asked what did the "A" stand for. I mean he's been so open about his life I figured he wouldn't mind telling me," chimed in Sparks.

"And?"

"No go, skipper. All he said about his names is that they truly represent his heritage but he feels uncomfortable using the middle one. He had already told me his grandfather was from Scotland and if you saw a picture of his mom, you could tell she was Latino. Frank and I have tossed around a couple names. Cam would just smile and shake his head."

"Well, if he doesn't want it to be known just don't push it, or wait at least until he has some cruises under his belt," laughed the captain as he walked away.

Lee knew he had a secret weapon to uncover the name. Not that he wanted to pry; he just didn't like an unsolved mystery. He was a little shocked when his secret weapon, a.k.a. Chip Morton, wouldn't spill the beans. Since the XO was in charge of hiring, with the captain's and admiral's final approval, he was the only one who had access to the paperwork where the lieutenant's full name was listed.

"He did say if anyone guessed it, he wouldn't lie about it."

The Chief and Ski had overheard the conversation and quickly started the pool at two dollars a guess. One-half would go to the winner and one-half to Mr. Maxwell; after all, it was his name. Four rules were quickly established:

Mr. Morton couldn't enter.

No use of a computer to research his birth certificate, etc., but it was allowed for looking up unusual names**.**

The pool would last until the name was correctly guessed or six months, whichever came first. If there was no winner then the pool's monies would go to charity. Mr. Maxwell decreed he had the right to choose the charity.

You could enter as many times as you wanted. Posting the list in the crew's and officer's mess with a daily update to list all names to avoid duplication.

During his first sailing, more than half the boat had entered guesses for the name. The junior officer quickly vetoed common names such as Arthur, Alfred and Alfonzo, as were the more exotic names-Aesop, and the captain's contribution of Abdukrahman (Islamic). Men, attempting to guess what other nationality Mr. Maxwell's name could represent, tried Acario (Hebrew) and Abhijat (Native American) to no success. Patterson had even suggested Aristotle. Cam would smile each day as he checked the list and shake his head sometimes in great amusement at the strangeness and the ethnicity of the guesses.

During the second mission, there were fewer entries due to the near death of Mr. Morton*. The day before reaching Santa Barbara when the crisis had passed, the men were in a more jovial mood and guessing was heavy but still, no winner.

It wasn't until the end of the third mission, when the six months were almost up, that Admiral Nelson entered the pool and won. He hadn't wanted to use what he thought was an unfair advantage, but knowing that charity would be the actual winner, reasoned anyone was free to guess based on the events in the young officer's life. After all, Mr. Maxwell appeared to be a very garrulous person, so surely he had told others about his unusual birth. Nelson had learned the amusing story when Cam accompanied him for a short flight in the flying sub.

In the short time the admiral was around Maxwell, he found the junior officer a strange mixture of characteristics possessed by Lee and Chip. Prior to Maxwell's first cruise on _Seaview_, Nelson ran into Cam's last captain. If the stories told to the admiral were true, it appeared that in his time with the Navy, Maxwell, like Crane, had established himself as a risk taker. He was an officer who always put himself in harm's way to protect his fellow shipmates and boat.

Cam also had shown a remarkable aptitude for computers. He might even give the XO some stiff competition. Aboard _Seaview_ he was fitting in very well with the officers and rates. He appeared to be very approachable and not afraid to get his hands dirty, but still managed to maintain his authority when working with the men. He did not have the exec's trademark stare; however, there were times Nelson had observed him handling a situation with just a look.

Finally, when in deep desperation, men were entering names of objects or animals, the admiral decided it was time to step in. By then Sharkey had suggested aardvark and Riley followed that up with anteater, but Kowalski's entry of applesauce was the final straw. Taking all that he knew about the young officer into account, he wasn't positive about his entry. It seemed to make the most sense, and he was correct.

Nelson, knowing very well how to maintain morale aboard _Seaview_, promptly announced that he would be using his portion of the winnings ($500) to host a BBQ for the crew and their families. Cam very generously donated his portion to the Wounded Warrior Project, in honor of his uncle Captain Jonathan Maxwell USN. The captain had been a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

In fact, Carlos was born there three weeks early when his mother went into labor immediately following the graduation ceremony of his Uncle Jonathan. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing when Cam revealed the details of his auspicious birth location, practically on the sidelines at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium! Admiral Nelson announced that obviously, his calling to naval service was almost a sure thing from the beginning.

The picnic thrown on the third Saturday in June was a huge success. In the typical support from the men of _Seaview_ and their families, that the admiral had come to expect, an additional $2500 was collected for the Wounded Warrior Project, an amount generously matched by the admiral.

Commander Morton had beaten Chief Sharkey and Kowalski in the pie-eating contest, with his hands tied behind his back figuratively and literally. He was relaxing now, enjoying his victory, with no trace of the illness that had almost robbed him of his life.* Riley, Kowalski, and some other younger men wanted to show off in front of their dates so they got together a volleyball game. Elected umpire/referee, Dr. Jamison situated himself in a sand chair with a nice glass of iced tea. Making sure to cover his balding head with a_ Seaview_ baseball cap, he got the game underway. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as the men planned. It seemed many of the women were more interested in eyeing the 6-foot Adonis-like body of _Seaview's_ newest junior officer than their own dates. Jamie was having trouble refraining from laughing as he saw the young women ogling Mr. Maxwell. Cam's warm golden tanned skin, dark hair, and golden eyes certainly attracted a lot of attention. Angie commented that his eyes seemed to turn to a honey color in certain light. In no time, one man after another removed his sweat soaked shirt, giving the viewing audience a real treat.

Captain Crane had reluctantly agreed to judge the sand castle building by the children. He declared Patterson's five-year-old daughter the winner in the under eight division and Spark's 12 year old visiting nephew the winner in the 9 to 14 age division. Grabbing a beer, Lee took a break, choosing the steps of Nelson's patio as a quiet place away from the festivities.

Chip arose from his resting place to join Lee in his seclusion. After refusing the offered beer, he parked himself on the steps next to his best friend. He was cognizant of Lee's moodiness during NIMR sponsored family events. Chip would never criticize this behavior. It must have been difficult growing up with a drunken abusive father whose idea of together time usually resulted in a black eye or broken bone. Putting his hand on Lee's thigh, Chip gave it an empathetic squeeze.

"I don't know who was happier, Patterson, or his daughter Penny, when you awarded her first place."

"Pat's a great dad. I saw him playing Frisbee with his son, Peter. I'm glad we're in port tomorrow for Father's Day. I can't imagine how tough it must be on the married men when we are at sea, away from family. But, at least when they are home together…" Lee's voice trailed off as he glanced at his brother with a wistful half smile on his face.

After a couple minutes of silence, Chip patted Lee's leg a couple times before leaving his friend with his thoughts.

Nelson had noticed the blonde haired officer walking away, sure Chip had tried to put Lee in a better frame of mind. He, too, was perceptive of what these family events stirred up in Lee. Thinking back to a decision he made several years ago, Nelson was no longer confident he had made the correct choice.

Harry was very aware of the longing in Lee's eyes when he looked out over to the beach area. Seeing the laughing children playing and running with their affectionate parents reinforced Lee's unpleasant memories. Nelson knew the young man had missed out on all this parental love during his traumatic childhood. The admiral realized he had been wrong in thinking his original decision would not matter. He was now determined to confront Lee about it. Tomorrow, yes, he thought with a chuckle, tomorrow would be a very appropriate day for the talk.

Author's notes

*_All Things Work Together_

In case you haven't guessed, his name is Lieutenant Carlos **A**nnapolis Maxwell, a very fitting name don't you think?


End file.
